On our book shelves devoted to beekeeping are some of the classics; Langstroth’s Hive and the Honey Bee, Root & Miller’s ABC and ZYZ of Honey Bee Culture, Francis Huber’s New Observation Upon Bees, and dozens of other books that cover everything from queen breeding and selection to honey production to health benefits from hive […]

There is a debate developing in British Columbia about the concern over neonicotinoid insecticides and the effects they may be having on pollinators, both wild and domestic. We’ve been watching with interest the actions of the Ontario government to try and rein in the use of neonics (NNIs) by reducing their use by 80 per […]

Get ready for the B.C. Honey Producers Association’s semi-annual general meeting and Education Day on March 13-14 in Kamloops. The BCHPA has organized a great education program for Saturday, March 14, following their regular business day on Friday. You can register here. They are also bringing back, by popular demand, the Certified Instructors Course, which […]

It has been long overdue, that review of Mark Winston’s book Bee Time. I started in the gloriously long summer before the honey harvest was over and read it while sitting in a beach chair at a remote Okanagan Lake cabin when I could savour the flavour of his writing without distraction. The review stalled during the […]

I always look forward to the annual B.C. Honey Producers’ Association convention for two reasons. The first, but not most important one is that it comes towards the end of a season of heavy lifting. The approach of the AGM and its popular education day are signs that the frenetic summertime workload of looking after […]

The debate over neonicotinoid pesticides and their continuing effect on bees has reached the political level in Ottawa, where questions are now being asked about the propriety of a former Conservative minister working for CropLife Canada, the industry association defending those pesticides. Ordinarily ethics rules would prevent a former cabinet minister from directly going to work for […]

Beekeepers face a dizzying array of pests, diseases and threats to their livestock. We spend an enormous amount of time battling the varroa mite and being on guard for American Foulbrood disease, nosema, small hive beetle and Africanized honey bees. Fortunately in our region of Western Canada we don’t have the last two problems. Yet. […]

About . . .

Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd and its subsidiary, Swan Valley Honey Ltd., are known for their sustainable beekeeping practices and a growing list of terroir-based niche honeys.
Based in the verdant Creston Valley in B.C.'s Central Kootenay region, we produce award-winning honeys derived from a vast array of forages, including alfalfa, dutch clover, snowberry, thistle, wild fruits, fireweed, sweet clover and more. The land has provided our Swan Valley branded-honey a gentle, delectable, sweetness sought after throughout the province. We supply over 30 retail locations in B.C.
We are committed to working with farmers who respect the land they use and the bees we provide, and we seek out strong and beneficial relationships. We are interested in the science and breeding of bees, the production of honey and hive products, and trying to resolve the challenges bees and their keepers around the world face.